Riding cultivator



M" 31 19271 s. H. rlNsMAN RIDING cULT'IvA'roa Filed Feb. 24. 1925 5 Sheets-Sheetv 1 1 Mq a1, 1927.

' 1,630,772 s. H. TlNsMAN l RIDING CULTIVATOR ilea Feb. 24. 1925 s'sneets-,sneet 2 May 31, 1927. i; ,71:12 -w s. H. TINSMAN RIDING cULT'IvATon Filled Feb. 24. 1925 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 272%?? fr.: v

.. May '31, 1927.l

I 1,630,772 sa H. TlNsMAN RIDING cUL'TIvATon Filed Feb. 24. 1925 5 shets-sneet 5 Y'l portion of the said cultivator., l .Figi 3v is a rear view-of thefcultivator shown in Fig l. n

Patented May 31, 1927.

SAMUEL II.y TINSMAN,

or ivionnIsz ILLINOIS. y

l RIDING CULTIVA'JJOR.`

Application led February This invention relates to riding cultivatorsy "in general, but more particularly to those which are adapted to cultivate two rows ot' corn or other things at the same time, sometimes called double-row cultivators, and especiallyto those which have provisions of some kind for enabling the driver to steer or swerve thev machine to the right or the left,.while the cultivator is in action, therebyl to follow the rows of corn or other things, or for thel purpose of 'dodging or driving, around obstructions.

Generally stated, the object ot' the inventionis to provide novel and improvedmeans for steering the cultiva-tor to the right or to the left, while the machine is in-use, and

thereby to facilitate and render more satistails and features koit construction, and novel combinationsl tending to increase the general eiliciency and the desirability of a riding and steering cultivator of this particular character. y

lTo the foregoing land other useful ends, the inventionconsists in the matters hereinatter lset forthl andA claimed, and vshown in the accompanying drawings, in which;-

Fig. .l is a plan of a riding andV steering cultivator embodying the principles of the invent-ion.

' Fig. 2 is adetail, perspective view :of a

, Fig. 4 is a view similar toiFig. y'1,1 but showing vthe steering instrumentalities operated toV steerthe machine tothe right. Fig. 5 isa front elevation `ofthe airlearch or transverse,bail-shaped, axle like' lmember upon thelends-otw'hich the frontwheels are mountedf` Fig is side elevatien of said cultii'fator.

'-f is a fragmentary, perspeftir Y iev 24, i925. Vserial Nb. 11,080.V

showing" the rear steering mechanism for the cult-ivatorf. -l v Fig. 8 is a fragmentary, perspective view of a portiono-ic the construction.

Fig. 9 is a fragmentary, perspective viewV of a portion of the construction. p As thus illi'istrated,`the invention 4cornprises a rigid frame composed of the poles or tongues 1; connected at their reanends by the cross bar 2 in any suitable orde-v the `airle arch have L-shapedV members 6,y

swiveled thereon and forming axles jt'or 4the front wheels 7 of the machine'.l Said meinf bers 6 havel forwardly-projecting rigid arms ,8 which are connected together by` the cross bar 9 suitably connected to the ends' of said arms, whereby when one wheel 7 is skewed, `vthe other Wheel isnecessarily skei'v'ed at the same angle. s 1 V y The rearvsteering wheel lOis mounted on a vertically, disposed member lliwhich turns in a vertically disposed bearing 12,whih is rigid withthecasting 13,. to: which the seat bar 141'is bolted, said. "bar having-*its upper portion provided with aV sea'tf-lv of any suitable character. Said seat bar is L Vconnected byan upper` brace 16 with the top oft the bearing 12,'. as shown, van'd'alongitudinal bar .17 connects the` upper `end of said bearing 12 with the middle portion of they axle arch 3 previously mentionecli'QThe casting y13 hastwo vertically disposed "bearings 18 spaced av distance fromV the sides of the bearing-12, and these bearings 18ar'e occupied bythe upturnedrear end portions of the rods 19,`whichl latter in turn. have their, front upturned ends 'T held in swivelV bearings 20', whereby'the trailing steering wheel 10 and the seat 15 supported thereby ,ido can he swung to the 'rightor, thel'eftabout lthe pivots provided by the bea`i'i'ngs120, and .n l

' about. the` pivot 21 provided lbetweenLthe bar 17 and the clamp 22 on the axle arch,'the

elements 17 and 19 forming asort otfparallel V motion connection whereby the casting .18 will always remain parallel4 with the Y transverse middle portion ofthe axlear'ch,

even when the wheel vl() is turned to 'swe'rve f' the driver-sseat to one vor4 the other. The (rainwater. gangs 23,124, v25" and '2e KHN.

are of any .suitable character, Vcoininu cultivator teeth ory blades f 2'? "suitably mounted on the Ygang frames, which have l Vforward upturned end portions 28 vvinserted "is accomplishedthrough the medium of a cross bar 3l, which is rigidly connected by Y upwardly throughthejbearings 29 that'are mounted to turn freely on the middle portion of the axlearch 3, wherebyfthe'gangs can swing s'idewise, and may also be raised and lowered. i The swerving of the gangs to Oneside, vwhen, the wheel l0 is turned in one 'direction or another, by the rigid footl pedals 30, whichY are rigid with the member 11 upon which'the wheel iis mounted,

straps 32 with the casting 13, said vbar 3l havin'g rigid and downwardly projecting portions .33 y, which extend Y through the gang frames in a manner that downwardly permits the frames to swing-up and' down, but `with such engagement of said frames ythat the gangsy are held a fixed distance apartV and will be swerved to one i side Vor Vthe other when the seat 1'5 and the steerring wheel l() areswerved to one side or the 'other by theturning of said wheel in either direction.v The lgangs can slide up and down on they portions 33, but any lateral shifting of the ybar 3l, brought about by turning the wheel lOin either direction, will swerve Vthe gangs over to one side. See 4V vof the drawings.

The bearings 29 are held against lateral displacement -on the arch 3 collars 34r which are held byv set screws 35 inlfixed position on the arch'3, whereby the bearings 29 may turn-or oscillate about a horizontal, transverse axis formed by the middle portion of the'aXle arch 3,-but are held against lateral displacement thereon;

l -F or Athe purpose fof' raising and lowerring thegangs, a handlever'36 is provided for eachgang and pi'voted at 37 on a bracket 378 having a 'segment`39 to beeiigaged by the locking means ordinarilyjand commonly provided onhand levers of this kind, said bracket 33 being suitably secured 'to the cross .bar orfbeam 2 previously mentioned; The Alower or shorter'end portion of the vhand* leverjisrconnected by-'a rod 40 with the cultivator vgang below, by means of loose connections between each rod 40 and its." Y ,alloted'gang c, and a spring 4l is applied to each rod in such a manner that the spring .tends to hold the gang down, but may yield .whilev` the hand levers V36 are'in locked po- `si'tioinin order to permit the gangsV to 'rise overl hard ground or obstructions. It will understood, however, that the 'invention i' to for this purpose.

isnot limited to any particular,locking and rraising means for thegangs, and that any suitableor 4desired means may be remployed @In order that ther-*wheels 7 may be auto-k v`inatically controlled by the steeringinechafnism in the rear, alink 42isprovided between one of Vthe rods 19 and Vthe bar 9 for the cultivator previously mentioned,v as shown inl*1 lgs. l.

andv 4, whereby the shewing of theV wheel 'l0 by means of the foot pedals 30 in the l manner` previouslyv described, and the consequent swerving ofA the seat-supportin`g structure to one side or the other, will auto! mati-cally skew the wheels 7 in a direction to assistin steering jthe Vcultivator in the desired manner. that the invention not only contemplates broadly the provision of rear steering vmeans for a riding cultivator, or other agricultural implement, but also vcontemplates ,n c the `combination of ysuch steering -means with front steering wheels which are automatically controlledby theV action of the Yrear steering mechanism, so thatthe front wheels and rear wheel (2o-operate to steer'the culti- Yvator to the right/or to theA left, andthis entire steering arrangement is controlled by the action of the feet of the driver lon ythe It will be seen, therefore,

short levers 30 which are rigid with the" in a manner that will bek readily under-k stood, and lthe poles or tonguesare main!V tained in their parallel relation and atright Vangles to the beam. 2'by rthe braces` 44, which form therewith a rigid draft frame or other agricultural iin-1"' lplement.V

From the vided, whereby "a riding cultivator is pro-l foregoing willbeiseen that a Y novelconstruction andl arrangement ispioduced,'having a front axle arch and a'plurality lof gangs, forminga double-row'cul! `tivator, and havingr rear steering means; of

any suitable" character, but Vpreferablyl in Athe form of a rear .wheel which Tv'can be skewed to the'right or the left by the'driver, preferably by foot control, in 'combination ywith means whereby such wheel is Aoperative vto Vcause the cultivator gangs to swerve to The rear wheel, in c theright orV the left, n some ways, acts Vlike arudder, for when it is skewed to the rightit quickly shifts the gangs over to the right,.`andwhen skewed 1 to the left serves `to immediately' shift the iio gangs to the left In addition,',however, t

such Arear*"steeriiig mechanism, reason 'of' its abilitylto "swerve the'gang's to the-right or theleft, is operative tol-control the Y front vwheels. of. the cultivat'or,andjA to exercise Vsuchy control *over said *front (wheels, that the latter contribute to the desired vsteerin'ei of the .cultivator' t'o the right or lthe left.

In other word s,'when the reark wheelfis skewed to the right, the effect is to automatically skew the front wheels tothe right,so `that the entire machine will immediately be guided to -the` right, and the' same'etl'ect is produced when the rear wheel is kskewed to the left, for in suchfcase the entire machine will then be guidedltotheleft.. This is done in a mannerl which is easy and con# venient vfor the driver, inasmuch as only a slight foot pressure on theshort'foot levers which control the rear'wheelv is' necessary to turn this 'wheel to the right or theleft, thus leaving the hands ofthe driver free to control the horses, and free tornanipulate the hand levers by which the gangs are raisedv and lowered, whenever such is necessary or desirable. i

` Furthermore, it will be seen that the coning wheel or trailing means whereby Ythe cultivator mayy be steered to the right' kor I theoleft at the will of the driver. Y v

"Ofcourse, and by having the links 19 connectedto thevlower vends of the bearings- 18, while thefupper link 17 is connecte-d to Y the upper end of the'bearing 12, in they mannershown, the casting13 is maintained in an upright po'sition,-and it" will further l be'. seen that thisarrangement fthe seat is not skewed to the right or 4the left during the steering operation, inasmuch aslthe'front` sideofthe casting 13 always remains parallel with the, axle arch. Thereartrail'er in effect provided by the wheeled seat-su portingl structure thus formed has a'dra -`tV con- Y nection to the axle arch, so that this -trailer may swing laterally relatively tothe liront wheeled structure formedv by the axle "arch Vand front wheels, and the' poles'orV tongues previously described. By skewingthe, wheel 10, thetrailer, sti-called, can be steered to the rightor the left, and this steering action,

through the medium of thefbar 3l andv the downwardly extending portions 33 thereof,

fwill cause the -cultivator gangs ori other ground-engaging 'or ground-disrupting devices or means `to' swing" laterally inthe desired manner', thereby to'follo'w therowsof` corn yor other things to be cultivated, orto dodge obstructions, orfor any reason which may be desire`d,fin connection with the useLoif a cultivator or;Y other agricultural implement; Thus the: gangs or other ground-disruptinggor groundfengaging' means can kbe lifted `from the ground`,by meanslsupportedtonthe forward wheeled structure,zwithout imposi ing any jojffthefweight of said gangs or other i means onf the frear' trailer vor rear steering` plysuiiicient to support the gangs in raised position, even though the trailer were omit-1.

ted.` The trailervis operative, however, inf

the manner explained, and bymealns ofthe bar .3l lwhich is. rigid with the seat" supweightof` the` driver, as theV structure is am? Y port, and by means of the projecting portions 33, to automatically swerve the gangs to oneside or the other, when the trailer is steered to thel right orf the lett. v i

The wheelflO and thefoot' pieces 30 con-y stitute agste'ering mean s,'it Will. be understood, 'i-n the sense* that jthese elements i are controllable by the i driver to4 steer' the trailer vtothe rightor the left, and to theres.

by steer the gangs to the right or thelet't,

i'r'r'fesp'ective of whether the lfront wheeled vvehicle frame is steered tothe right or the left.- The wheel 10 and elements associated y therewith form a trailer for theoultivator, and this trailer. can besteered to the rightk or the left, as explainedfby the driver occuL pying the seat on thetrailer', so that by steeringr the trailer to fthe right or the left, the

cultivating'gangswill be swervedto one side orthe other. i i f VVVithout disclaiminganything, and without prejudice to any novelty shown'` and' described, what l -clai'mjja's invention is :l f fl. yIna riding cultivator, the combinationl Vof a j wheeled 'structura l cultivator lgangs connected thereto andadaptedto .s'wi-n-gvla't-k eifally, a rearseat forv the driver,l a 'seat-sup;

porting structure having? draft .connection to and' trailing behind the wheeled structure -toj kswing laterally relativelytheret,

and; provided with steering means engaging f the grou'i'ld to sustain the weight `of thev driver', meanswherebythej 'driver yhas con; l v trol overfsa1d-steer1ng means, thereby vvto f swing theseat-supporting structure laterali ly 'at` will, and connecting" y'means between said seat-supporting .structure andsaid cul.-

tivator-gangs, whereby swerving of the: seat'-v i supporting structure to one sideor lthe other f by the action-of said `steering means lwill necessarily cause saidvl'gangs to swing? lat-.jy

erally in the same direction. L y 2; A` cultivatory struct're as 'specified in posed in position to travel between two rows oi' corn or other thingsA to ber cultivated;

claim l, said steering mea-ns Vcomprising a w v'.

wheel mounted torbe skewed about `a ver;l g i tically disposed aina-saltiy wlie'elfbeingl dis- A3,:A cultiva'tor structure -asvspeciiied in c points where they "are pivotedv on said wheeled structure, whereby said seat may swing sidewise without-being skewed to the right or the left.

4. Afcultivator structure as'speciiied iny claim-1, the connectionubetween said seatysupporting structure and. the cultivator gangs comprising a transverse bar, rigid -with they seat support and provided withV downwardlyV extending Vmembers -having sliding engagement with the cultivator gang fr'ames, whereby the 4gai'igs may swing up yand down relatively to said seat-supporting structure.

`5.- A cultivator. structure as specified in claim 1, the connection between Vvsaid seat-v supporting structure and the cultivator gangs comprising a transverse vbar rigid withV the. seat support and .providedV with` downwardly extending members having sliding engagementfwith the cultivator gang frames, whereby the gangs may swing up and down relatively to said seat-.supporting structure, lin-combination with manually controlled meansffor raising and lowering .the cultivator gangs.

6. A 'cultivator structure as specified in claim'l, saidwheeled structure comprising afront axlek arch having downturned Vend portions upon which the front wheels are mounted, a draft frame upon the under side of which the axle arch is'mounted,` and bracing means insuring a fixed relation Vbetween sa-idfaxle arch and said.-draft frame,

Asaidfc'ultivator gangs having upturned front 'endyportions swivelly Vconnected with the gio Y steer themachine tothe right or the left. Y

`transverse upper portion of said axle arch. 17. A cultivator structureVV as specified inv claim. 1," the wheels-of said wheeled structure being mountedv *toy be` skewed to the right orthe-left,` and there being a controlling conne'ctionnbetween said seat-support ing structure fand said front wheels, whereby said rear steering means is operative to automatically control 'the front wheels to 8. `A"structureas specified in claim 1,said wheeled structure comprising a front axle Yarch having downtuiiied end portions uponv ywhiclifare mounted the front Wheels of the c ultivator,A in combination with means whereby said rear steeringmeans is oper-k ative to control said front wheels toV steer i the cultivatofr to thel right or theleft.

9. A structiu'eas specified claim 1, said rear seatesupporting structure comprising a` vcasting yprovided with "three vertically'dis-A posed bearings, the seat being rigid -with said casting, andcomprising horizontally .and longitudinally disposed links extending forwardly from, the'` two outsideV bearings, `the vfront endsfo'f said links being swiveled" on Van axle arch forming part of said previously mentionedwheeled structure',-and the middle one of .said bearings ony said casting kbeii'ig a supporttherefor mounted vto turn in they middle one of said bearings on said casting, and said controlling .means comprising a ypair of foot leversrigid with said vertical-ly disposed member. v j 10. vA cultivator structure as specified 1n claim 1, said steeringmeans comprising'a wheel that travels on thev ground, and., said; controlling means therefor comprising a pair of foot levers roperative to skew said wheel tothe right or the left.1 Y I 11. r`A cultivator structure' as specified in claim 1, said front wheeled structure having the wheels thereof under controlbyf said rear steering means to steer the lcultivato to the right or the left. A f

12. In anf agricultural implement, the

connected by an upper horizon'tally-disposed'` Vlink pivotally .connected to ysaid axle arch, Y

said steering means `comprising a wheel and u v in..kv

soy

.combination of means formingjav front 4wheeled structure, rearsteering means en'- gaging the ground,having vdraft connection with and `trailing behind 'said structure, va

-drivers seat adjacent thereto, supported` thereby for lateral movement relatively toV said wheeled structure, so that the Vweight of the driver is sustained by Vsaid steering means, ground engaging ineans,jmeans on said vfront wheeled structure to raise said ground engaging means without 'imposing the weight thereof onsaidsteering means, and controlling means whereby .the driver exercises control over saidsteer'ing means.V

ground engaging means, relatively t`o-:'.s'aid`Y 'front wheeled, structure', togetherf with nieanswhereby said steeringmeans-are opeij'ative to swerve said means laterally.v

1li.v A structure as said reargsteering means comprisingafwheel that travels on the ground, and saidcontrol the .right vor the left. f v, Y 15'. AA structureas-specied in claim 12,

tions extend/ing therefrom to wheeled structure.,V

weight thereof onl said trailer,"v together with instrumentalities whereby, said. wheeledl trail?v 'er 'my be gered t@ the @ight or' the! left@ sparita in Q @13.115 i2,

ground engagingY -ling"ineanswcomprising a ,pair of foot Vlevers operatively'. connectedto skew said. wheel `to 13. jA Vstructure as 'specified'. inclaim 12,1190

said ground engaging means having connee.- j

,tions therefrom'tosaid front.wheeledstr-ucv` Y ture* permitting lateral movement Voff'f'said cause lateral shifting mot/ement of said ciil-y With steering means, ground-disrupting devices also swinginglyconnected to said axle arch and controlled bythe steering motion of l0y said trailer, and means on the arch to lift said devicesiwithout imposing'the Weight thereofon saidV trailer. l l Specication signedk this 18thday of Febf ruary, 1925.

Y f SAMUEL H. vTINSMAN. 

